Draft gear mounting



1941- R. M. NELSON 2,229,186

DRAFT GEAR MOUNTING Filed March 7, 1940 4 l L... 4 \L s l amen Wow UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,229,186 7 DRAFT GEAR, MOUNTING Robert M. Nelson, Evanston, less Equipment Company,

poration of Delaware Application March '7,

Claims.

This invention relates to draft gears for railway cars.

Draft gears of specifically different designs are in use and some of them may be used inter- 5 changeably in a certain draft gear pocket of a car under-frame structure without requiring alterations to said pocket, while others can be used in said certain draft gear pocket only if the same is altered to accommodate them.

It is very undesirable to have to alter the draft gear pocket of a car under-frame structure to accommodate any given draft gear. On the other hand, it is desirable in many instances to use in association with a certain draft gear pocket a draft gear which, as heretofore constructed, could be used with the said pocket only if the latter is altered.

Accordingly, the general object of the present invention is to provide adapter means whereby certain draft gears which, as heretofore constructed, cannot be used in a certain draft gear pocket of a car under-framestructure, except by altering the draft gear carrier plate, may readily be adapted for use with said draft gear pocket without any necessity of altering the carrier plate.

There is a decided modern trend toward reducing the weight of car structures generally, and in accordance with this trend, as well as to save metal and reduce production costs, it is desirable that draft gear assemblies be maintained as light in weight as practicable. Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide adapter means for the purpose stated which is not a permanent part of any draft gear with which it may be associated, but which is separate therefrom and attachable thereto and detachable therefrom at will, whereby it need not be used in any instance where its use is unnecessary, and whereby its weight is added to the normal weight of the gear only in instances where its use is necessary to adapt the gear for use in a certain pocket structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple means for detachably mounting the adapter means on that part of a draft gear with which it is intended for use, namely, the casing of the draft gear, and for holding it securely in operative assembly with said casing when it is attached thereto.

Adapter means for the purpose stated is particularly intended for use in association with draft gears employing horizontal yokes. However, it may be desirable in many instances to use in association with a vertically disposed yoke Ill., assignor to Peer- Chicago, 111., a. cor- 1940, Serial No. 322,797

a draft gear which is constructed to have said adapter means applied thereto. In such instances there is no necessity of using the adapter means and, of course, it is not used. In this connection another object of the invention is to provide a draft gear embodying a special construction adapting it to have attached thereto adapter means for the purpose stated, and according to which said special construction does not in any way interfere with use of the gear in association 10 with a vertically disposed yoke.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will become more fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and. defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is a longitud' al section through a car under-frame structure having associated therewith a draft gear equipped with adapter means in accordance with the invention, the yoke of the gear being shown disposed horizontally.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the assembly shown inFig. 1; and

Figure 3 is a transverse section through the assembly shown in Fig. 1. I

That part of a car under-frame structure with which the present invention particularlyis concerned is comprised by a pair of laterally spaced center sills through which draft and buffing forces are transmitted to the car, while that portion of a draft gear with which the present invention particularly is concerned is comprised by the casing of a shock-absorbing mechanism which in practice is disposed in a pocket between 40 the center sills and is supported upon a transverse carrier-plate connecting the center sills at the bottoms thereof and constituting part of said pocket.

In the drawing, the center sills are designated as Ill, W, the carrier-plate as I l, the casing of the draft gear as I2, and the horizontal yoke as l3.

As aforesaid, draft gears of specifically different designs are in use and certain of them may be used interchangeably in acertain pocket of a car under-frame structure as shown without requiring any alterations of said pocket structure. on the other'hand, there are other draft gears which, as heretofore constructed, cannot be used in an under-frame'pocket structure as shown,

drawing, wherein like supported upon such carrier plate.

but require alteration of such structure in order to adapt same to accommodate them. In this connection the alteration may involve required reversal of the carrier-plate I I or removal of the same and replacement thereof by another carrier-plate, as carrier-plates disposed at different levels have heretofore been required to properly support specifically different draft gear casings I2.

Obviously it is a time-consuming, expensive operation to reverse or to replace a carrier plate when, for any reason, it is necessary or desirable to remove a draft gear having a casing I2 of a given design and to replace it with a draft gear having a casing I2 of a specifically different design. Therefore, it is quite desirable to have a standard draft gear pocket structure including a carrier plate I I reversal or replacement of which is unnecessary. In this connection the underframe pocket structure shown in which the carrier plate I I has its medial portion slightly offset downwardly from the bottoms of the center sills It), I 0 may beconsidered as standard, as the carrierfplate thus is adapted properly to support the casings I2 of a majority of draft gears most commonly in use and, in any event, is disposed to admit'into the space between the center sills Ill, ID the casings I2 of other draft gears in common use; whereas, a carrier plate II having its medial portion disposed at a higher elevation might deny admission of the casings I2 of some draft gears into the space between said center sills.

V The drawing illustrates by way of example a draft gear casing I2 of a well known design which, in the absence of special means adapting it to be properly supported upon a standard carrier plate II as shown, would not be properly In other I2 shown is provided at with laterally spaced,

Words, while the casing top and bottom thereof longitudinally extending pairs of ribs I4 the outer edges of which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the casing to adapt the casing to be supported upon a carrier-plate for longitudinal sliding movement thereover with either the top or the bottom of the casing disposed uppermost, said ribs are of such small depth that if the casing were supported by direct engagement of either pair of said ribs upon a standard carrier plate II as shown, the casing would be disposed at too low an elevation. It will therefore be apparent that a casing such as the casing I2 shown, having ribs I4 of small depth, ordinarily would require for its support at a proper elevation a carrierplate II disposed higher than the standard carrierplate shown. Moreover, a top strap or its equivalent would be required for cooperation with the upper edges of the top pair of ribs I4 to hold the casing against undesirable upward movements.

To adapt a casing I2 such as the one shown to be supported at a proper elevation by a standard carrier-plate II as shown, the said casing I2 might be provided with ribs I I of sufficiently greater depth than the ribs shown. This, however, not only would add considerable undesirable weight to the casing, but would increase its cost, with the consequent disadvantages stated and no compensating advantages if the casing should be used in association with a vertical type yoke, in which use the ribs would be without utility. Accordingly, it is undesirable to provide a casing I2 such as the casing shown with integral ribs I4 of sufficient depth to properly support said casing upon a standard carrier-plate I I as shown.

add very little "weight It is desirable, however, to provide for use with a casing I2 of the character shown, adapter means to be attached to said casing for cooperation with a standard carrier-plate II to support the casing I2 upon said carrier-plate at a proper elevation, and to be detached from said casing when its use is unnecessary, as when the casing is used with a vertically disposed yoke, so that the casing I2 will not, in the latter use, include excess weight. Therefore, what is contemplated by the present invention is a casing I2 of the character shown, constructed to have adapter means for the purpose stated conveniently and easily attached thereto and detached therefrom, and the provision of simple, inexpensive adapter means for the purpose stated to be attached to and detached from said casing through the instrumentality of the special construction of said casing.

In accordance with the practical embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, the casing I2 is provided at or adjacent to its front end, preferably at both its top and at its bottom, although essentially only at its bottom, with a pair of laterally spaced lugs I5, I5 having alined, transverse, pin accommodating openings, while at or near its rear end it preferably, but not necessarily, is provided with a suitable socket formation, or formations, I6 longitudinally alined with and facing the pair or pairs of lugs I5, as the case'may be. In other words, while the socket formation or formations I6 is or are not essential, same preferably is or are provided, and whetherthere shall be only a single such formation onlyat the bottom of the casing, or a second 1 such formation at the top of the casing, depends upon whether there is provided onlya single pair of lugs I5 at the bottom of the casing 'or asecond pair of lugs I5 at the top of the casing. In any event, the lugs I5 and'the socket formations I6 to the casing and do not production cost.

means may comprise only or a pair of adapter eleadd appreciably to its The present adapter one adapter element ments for use in association with any given caspreferablyare duplicates of one'another. Therefore, a description of one will'sufiice. It consists preferably of a light-Weight skeleton body portion I? of a length to extend between a pair of the lugs I5-and the related socket formation I6 and at its rear end is provided with a suitable nib I8 to be engaged in a socket formation I6, while at its frontend it versely apertured ears I9 to fit between the lugs I5. At itsinner side, said-adapter element is contoured to correspond to the contour of-the casing I2 so as to fit thereagainst, While at its outer side it is straight. Moreover, its inner and outer sides are related to each other so that when its inner side is fitted againt the casing I2 its outer side is disposed parallel to the aXis'of said casing. Furthermore, said adapter element is of a thickness or depth such that, when its inner "and, at the same time of light weight, it preferably comprises" side rails 20 connected together a by crosspieces' '2I with open spaces betweensaid rails and cross pieces. It may, however, be of any is formed with a pair of trans-- other suitable'construction; In any event, to apply said adapter element to a casing l2 as shown, said adapter element simply is disposed against the casing with itsnib 18 in a socket formation [6 and with its ears l9 between the related pair of lugs l5, l5. A pin 22 then is inserted through the alined opening in said lugs and ears. The adapter element thus is securely held in assembly with the casing and yet may readily be detached therefrom simply by removing the pin 22.

When an adapter element 11 is attached to the bottom of a casing I2 as shown it provides casing means for engagement with a standard carrier plate II as shown to support the casing at a proper elevation upon said carrier-plate and also for such sliding movement of the casing relative to said carrier-plate as occurs in the service of the gear. On the other hand, when the use of the adapter element is not required, as for example when the casing I2 is used with a vertical yoke, it may be removed from the casing.

Obviously there is required to be used only a single adapter element I! at the bottom of any given casing I2 to support said casing at a proper elevation upon a standard carrier-plate H. It will be apparent, therefore, that the purpose of the present invention will be served by the provision of means for attaching only a single adapter element to the bottom of any given casing. It is preferred, however, to provide for attaching an adapter plate to either the top or the bottom of a casing l2 not only in order to render the casing reversible, but in order that, if desired, a second adapter element I1 may be attached to the top of any given casing, 12 as shown in Fig. 1 for cooperation with the top flanges of the center sills [0, ID to hold the casing against undesirable upward movements. Accordingly, and as aforesaid, casings formed in accordance with the invention preferably are provided at both top and bottom with lugs 15 and socket formations it.

Obviously, any given adapter element would be operatively held in assembly with a casing l2 in the absence of a socket Or equivalent formation It cooperating with'the rear end of the adapter element. It is apparent, therefore, that socket formations H5 or their equivalents are not essential. They preferably are provided, however, to insure holding of the rear ends of the adapter element in proper relationship to casings l2.

Of course, in lieu of socket formations on the casing and cooperating nibs on the rear ends of the adapter elements, this arrangement might be reversed by providing nibs on the casing to cooperate with socket formations on the rear ends of the adapter elements. Likewise, there might be only a single lug on the casing to cooperate with a pair of cars on the front end of an adapter element, or only a single lug on the front end of an adapter element to cooperate with a pair of lugs on the casing. In fact, within the purview of the invention the adapter elements as well as the means for detachably mounting them upon casings l2 may take various specifically different forms.

In any case where an adapter element H is not used at the top of a casing [2, a cross strap extending between the center sills above the easing may be provided for cooperation with the ribs M at the top of the casing in accordance with known practice to hold the casing against upward movements. On the other hand, the usual flange 23 at the rear end of a casing l2 be readily apparent as shown is of a height to cooperate with the top flanges of the center sills l0, H! to hold the rear end of the casing against upward movement while the lugs l5 may be of proper height as shown, to cooperate with the said flanges of said center sills to hold the front end of the casing against upward movement, in which event the use of an adapter element l6 at the top of the casing obviously is unnecessary.

Preferably the adapter elements I! are formed at their inner sides to seat upon the usual ribs l4. Preferably, too, the socket formations l6 are formed by ribs cast on and extending forwardly from the usual flange 23. However, the inner faces of the adapter elements may be formed to engage any other part of the casing I2 and said socket formations or their equivalents may be formed in any other suitable manner.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will to those skilled in the art, and. it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A draft gear shock absorbing mechanism casing provided near opposite ends thereof with exterior projections formed for interfitting cooperation with opposite end formations of an adapter element to be attached to said casing for the purpose of adapting said casing to be supported at a proper elevation upon the carrierplate of a car under frame structure, an adapter element having end formations for interfitting cooperation with said casing projections, and means for cooperation with one of said projections on the casing and one of said formations on the adapter element to positively, detachably mount said adapter element on said casing.

2. Means to adapt the casing of the shock absorbing mechanism of a draft gear to be supported at a proper elevation upon the carrierplate of a car under-frame structure, said means comprising an adapter element to be attached to the casing and to rest upon the carrier-plate, means carried by the casing near one end thereof and cooperating means at one end of the adapter element to be inlterfitted to hold said end of the adapter element against outward movement and against longitudinal movement in one direction relative to the casing, means projecting from the casing near the other end thereof for cooperation with the other end of the adapter element to hold the adapter element against longitudinal movement in the opposite direction relative to the casing when said other end portions of said adapter element is engaged with said projecting means and is held against outward movement relative to the casing, and means detachably engaged with said projecting means and cooperating with the said other end of the adapter element to hold the said other end of the adapter element engaged with said projecting means and against ourtward movement relative to the casing.

3. Means to adapt the casing of the shock absorbing mechanism of a draft gear to be supported at a proper elevation upon the carrierplate of a car under-frame structure. said means comprising an adapter element to be attached to the casing and to rest upon the carrier-plate, means carried by the casing near one end thereof and cooperating means at one end of the adapter element to be'interfitted. to hold said end of the adapter element in operative relationship to the casing, apertured lug and ear formations on the casing and the adapter element at the other ends thereof, and a pin to be passed through said lug and ear formations to detachably conheat the adapter element to the casing.

4. A draft gear shock absorbing casing having a recessed projection, an element to be attached to said casing to adapt the same to be supported at a proper elevation upon the carrier-plate of a car under-frame structure, a nib at one end of said element to enter the recess of said projection to hold said end of said element against outward movement relative to the casing, said projection constituting a stop for engagement with said end of said element to hold said element against longitudinal .movement in one direction relative tothe casing, said casing having a second projection for cooperation with the other end of said element to hold said element against longitudinal movement in the opposite direction relative to said casing when said other end of said element is engaged with said second mentioned projection and is held against outward movement relative to the casing, and means removably engageable with said second projection and the said other end of said element engaged with said second mentioned projection and to hold the said other end of said element against outward movement relative to the casing.

5. A draft gear shock absorbing casing having a recessed projection and a lug spaced from said projection, an element to be attached to said casing to adapt same to be supported at a proper elevation upon the carrier-plate of a car underframe structure, a nib at one end of said element to enter the recess of said projection to detachably connect said end of said element to said casing, said lug engaging an opposite end portion of said element when same is operatively engaged with the casing and its nib is disposed in the recess of said projection whereby said element is held against longitudinal movement relative to the casing, connecting the said opposite end portion of said element to said lug and thereby detachably connecting said element to said casing.

ROBERT M. NELSON.

and means for detachably 20 

